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About this project

What is it?

The DUO is the world’s first and only DIY 3D sensing solution.

The DUO comes in many forms: with open hardware plans, molded cases, kits and fully assembled devices. All paired with an open source Driver, SDK and examples. Resulting in a professional grade solution for 3D sensing using stereo vision.

The best part is it’s extremely easy to use, just plug it in, download the software and you can start playing within minutes. If you can wave in the air you can use a DUO.

Who's talking about it?

What can it do?

We built the DUO with the DIY philosophy in mind, giving you the freedom to do whatever you want with it. Here are some of the key features:

High performance and low latency

Low cost, fully customizable and built using off-the-shelf components

A general purpose solution and framework for stereo vision

Can be easily integrated with existing projects and the hardware will be licensed under Creative Commons

Technical Specifications

Potential Uses:

Art/Visualizations

Human Computer Interaction

Gaming/Entertainment

Robotics/Machine Vision

3D Scanning/Environment Mapping

and more...

Whether you are an artist, hobbyist, researcher or gadget fan, our goal is to make 3D sensing simple & customizable and can’t wait to see what you do with DUO.

With our first prototype video you can get a glimpse of what's possible.

Why are we doing this?

We have history in revolutionizing DIY touch systems for 2D space and will now do the same for 3D. With this project we aim to widen the availability and understanding of these technologies. The DUO is the convergence and evolution of our combined efforts and we are really excited seeing what amazing things you will create with it.

With the DUO we’re making fast and affordable 3D sensing accessible to everyone.

To do that we must:

acquire all required components for at least 1000 kits

continue to develop Linux and OSX support/integration

further refine the software and implement new features

ship the first batch of kits and assembled devices to our awesome backers

How far along is it?

As you can see we are pretty far along!

We already have our hardware prototypes working great. Our main goal now is to make it as affordable as possible and quickly get it into your hands. If we get at least 1000 units ordered we can get major price breaks on the components for the DUO.

Real-time 3D Visualizer built using Cinder.

Our Windows XP, 7 & 8 Driver/SDK is very stable (with over 4 million users) and is almost ready for beta testers. Shipping with the DUO is a highly optimized application that allows for precise tracking of hands, fingers and objects in 3D space. Although we believe in it being open, this application will not be immediately released as open source.

Beyond the software, the hardware has been through several revisions as you can see in the following images:

Prototype A - Transparent CAD renders of the first DUO Enclosure

Prototype B - Enclosure (Front & Back)

Prototype B - Assembled (Without Faceplate)

Prototype C - Assembled Unit with Production Components

Qualifications?

Our team has been doing cutting edge software and hardware engineering for over 15 years and have contributed significant research, code and discoveries to projects similar to DUO, which are already in use by millions of people. You can learn more about us on our team page.

What have we done?

CL Eye - The worlds’ first free Driver/SDK for the Sony PS3 Eye on Windows.CL Kinect - The worlds’ first free Driver/SDK for the Kinect on Windows. CL Studio - A real-time GPU accelerated visual processing and creation suite.CCV - The definitive open source vision application for creating 2D touch systems. Touchlib - The worlds’ first solution for open source DIY multi-touch.

Some of our initial research for this project started in early 2009 when we began experimenting with fast, in-air hand/finger tracking. This eventually lead to implementing more complex algorithms and methods for use with stereo vision.

Over the years we have gained crucial insight in creating highly optimized processing pipelines for computer vision. The DUO inherits these optimizations, which is demonstrated in the following video filmed at 240 FPS.

How will we do it?

We will work on finalizing and publishing the beta version of the Driver, SDK, examples and plans to get people started with building their own applications and sensors.

The DUO Kit assembly and packaging will be done in Las Vegas, helping support local manufacturing and growing tech scene. Thorough testing will help ensure reliability and standards are met before the DUO is packaged securely for shipping.

We will keep costs as low as possible and source all electronic components from UL/CE approved vendors to assure reliability. And we will put it all together, with a strict focus on quality.

We will use the funds to:

Refine and fabricate the enclosure, source components and assemble, test and package kits and complete devices.

Continue research and software development efforts, further integrate with Windows and support for Linux and OSX.

Create beautiful documentation and plans that clearly illustrates how the DUO works and detailed instructions on how to build one on your own.

Phases:

Our first phase will focus on delivering the CAD files/blueprints on how to build your own DUO device using the commonly available and affordable PS3 Eye camera sensors.

In our second phase we will release the software for Windows and shortly after for Linux and OSX. We then will ship DUO kits to help early adopters build their own devices.

In our last phase we will ship the kits and fully assembled DUO devices as well as software updates to continue to refine our acquisition and tracking methods.

Through all these phases and beyond we will transparently be working with our backers and the open community to make DUO the best solution available.

Rewards

A quick overview of our main rewards.

Updates & Questions

Future Developments of DUO: We have a tons of great ideas and research that will make DUO even more useful, powerful and all around awesomer. We hope that the project will be a big success so that we can share all our ideas and offer you an even better solution.

Frequent Questions: We have a lot we want to share with you about DUO, we are actively working on an extensive FAQ to answer all of your questions. And are standing by to answer any questions you may have.

Fun Fact: Even though the DUO focuses on 3D sensing it could potentially be used for 2D touch tracking on vertical and horizontal surfaces.

Risks and challenges

We've been working on the DUO for the past several years and had initially aimed to launch in November 2012. We held back so that we could ensure the prototype worked perfectly and so that we could form relationships with good suppliers and manufacturers. We are now confident that we can successfully deliver, so we’re launching the DUO.

With any project there are always challenges that can arise as the work progresses. With our passionate team of skilled scientists and engineers we will aim to solve any problems that might come up. We will engage the community directly with any possible issues we face and work on solving them together.

Here are some of the potential issues we face and how we will address them:

Issues with Production - We have been very selective in our choice of factories and manufacturers, choosing a partner that we know will deliver high quality results.

Software Platform Support - Problems that will arise from developing cross platform, we will solve these issues with community feedback and paid development and testing.

Quality Control - A major focus of the project is quality. The quantity of orders will help determine how we handle this. We will test each and every DUO ourselves and will carry out control checks in the production facilities.

We hope backers will understand that our project is a work in progress and feel confident that we will work hard and get past any challenges that could arise. This is about getting an amazing DUO into your hands as soon as possible. So please go back up to the top of the page and pledge now.

Projects like ours truly benefit from being on Kickstarter, and in turn we feel obliged to respect the rules of the platform. One of Kickstarter's rules is that they do not allow for multiple/bulk purchasing - if you are interested, their thinking is set out in a series of blog posts, including this one: http://www.kickstarter.com/blog/kickstarter-is-not-a-store.

However, you are welcome to create a second Kickstarter account and pledge for a second DUO for friends, family, roommates, etc. And don't forget there is also life after Kickstarter, which we have already started preparing for. Shortly after our Kickstarter ends we'll be accepting pre-orders directly via our website at http://duo3d.com/

We have spend a lot time developing and implementing custom algorithms and optimizing the code to make real-time processing possible. Also through driver improvements and optimizations we are able to capture at the maximum frame rate the camera can go. We managed to push the camera to its maximum potential.

Being a general purpose active 3D sensor, DUO is perfectly capable for the use in 3D object scanning using our SDK and RAW access to image data. Currently our focus has been primarily on tracking hands and object for the use is Human Computer Interaction but we have plans for showcasing more use cases in future.

Rewards

$1 reward

DUO PLEDGE: Thanks for your contribution! Even if you aren't ready for a DUO you can show that you believe in the vision of open sensors and be recognized on our contributors wall.

Estimated delivery:May 2013

You selected

$10 reward

16 backers

DUO SDK: Early access to our Software Development Kit which provides examples for using active stereo vision and 3D tracking in your own projects. Also you will be featured on our contributors page as a "developer".

Estimated delivery:May 2013

You selected

$20 reward

47 backers

DUO PLANS: Make your own with the instructions and CAD files provided under Creative Commons, customize the design however you wish and use with the SDK to create awesome applications. Also you will be featured on our contributors page as a "customizer".

Estimated delivery:May 2013

You selected

$40 reward

9 backers

DUO CASE: A complete molded plastic enclosure, faceplate, instructions and SDK. Also you will be featured on our contributors page as a "builder". Free shipping within USA.

Estimated delivery:Jun 2013

Ships anywhere in the world

You selected

$70 reward

24 backers

DUO COMPONENTS KIT:

A case, electronics, SDK and instructions on how to build your own sensor. All you need is two PS3 Eye cameras.

Also you will be featured on our contributors page as a "component builder". Free shipping within USA.

Estimated delivery:Jun 2013

Ships anywhere in the world

You selected

$110 reward

149 backers
Limited (851 left of 1000)

DUO DIY KIT: All required parts to build your own sensor, including two cameras, instructions on how to build your own and SDK.

Also you will be featured on our contributors page as a "DIY builder". Free shipping within USA.

Estimated delivery:Jun 2013

Ships anywhere in the world

You selected

$140 reward

156 backers
Limited (844 left of 1000)

DUO ASSEMBLED KIT: Jump right in with a fully assembled device, Plans and SDK. Also you will be featured on our contributors page as a "creative". Free shipping within USA.

Estimated delivery:Jun 2013

Ships anywhere in the world

You selected

$250 reward

43 backers
Limited (7 left of 50)

DUO BETA: Be a beta tester! Get one of the first fifty units off the production line. A fully assembled device and earlier access to our SDK. Including access to internal mailing lists and we will seek your feedback to improve the production editions. Also you will be featured on our contributors page as a "beta tester". Free shipping anywhere in the world.

Estimated delivery:Jun 2013

Ships anywhere in the world

You selected

$500 reward

5 backers
All gone!

DUO VISIONARY: Receive one of the first five units off the production line. A fully assembled device that will be signed and individually numbered and paired with early access to our SDK. Also you will be featured on our contributors page as a "visionary". Free shipping anywhere in the world.

Estimated delivery:Jun 2013

Ships anywhere in the world

You selected

$2,500 reward

1 backer
All gone!

DUO FIRST PROTOTYPE: Be part of sensor history, Our first prototype with custom case which was used in our drivers and algorithm development. You will also be featured on our contributors page as "the one". Free shipping anywhere in the world.

Estimated delivery:May 2013

Ships anywhere in the world

You selected

$5,000 reward

0 backers

DUO HACKDAY: Meet up with the team in Las Vegas, NV and share ideas, ask questions and learn about the the future of sensing. ($1500 for travel expenses). Also you will be featured on our contributors page as a "hacker".

Estimated delivery:Aug 2013

You selected

$10,000 reward

0 backers

DUO SPONSOR: You don't just believe in the project, you believe in the vision and want to be recognized as a true contributor to the future of it's development. You'll have your name/logo on our contributors page as a "sponsor" and will be involved in all of our launch activities. Also you will receive a signed or engraved DUO device. Free shipping anywhere in the world.

Estimated delivery:May 2013

Funding period

Mar 26, 2013 - Apr 25, 2013
(30 days)

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